Platelet transcriptional profile and protein expression in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: up-regulation of the type I interferon system is strongly associated with vascular disease.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have a markedly increased risk to develop cardiovascular disease, and traditional cardiovascular risk factors fail to account for this increased risk. We used microarray to probe the platelet transcriptome in individuals with SLE and healthy controls, and the gene and protein expression of a subset of differentially expressed genes was further investigated and correlated to platelet activation status. Real-time PCR was used to confirm a type I interferon (IFN) gene signature in patients with SLE, and the IFN-regulated proteins PRKRA, IFITM1 and CD69 (p<0.0001) were found to be up-regulated in platelets from SLE patients as compared to healthy volunteers. Notably, patients with a history of vascular disease had increased expression of type I IFN-regulated proteins as well as more activated platelets as compared with patients without vascular disease. We suggest that interferogenic immune complexes stimulate production of IFNalpha which up-regulates the megakaryocytic type I IFN-regulated genes and proteins. This could affect platelet activation and contribute to development of vascular disease in SLE. In addition, platelets with type I IFN signature could be a novel marker for vascular disease in SLE.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1951-1957
JournalBlood
VolumeJul 1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2010

Subject classification (UKÄ)

  • Hematology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Platelet transcriptional profile and protein expression in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: up-regulation of the type I interferon system is strongly associated with vascular disease.'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this